Toy parachute

ABSTRACT

A toy parachute in a knockdown form which may be readily assembled by a child, comprising a flexible parachute body, shroud lines readily attachable thereto and a weight member secured to the shroud lines, a hook member attachable to the flexible body, said hook member adapted to be secured to the kite line of a flying kite so that the wind will cause the parachute to ascend the kite line and the parachute can be released therefrom by a jiggling movement of the kit line so that the parachute descends in free flight.

baited @tates tt Kupperman et a1.

TOY PARACl-IUTE Inventors: Sam Kupperman, Chicago; Dennis I.

Kupperman, Skokie, both of I11.

Assignee: R B Toy Development Co., Skokie,

Filed: Dec. 3, 1973 Appl. No.: 420,959

US. Cl. 244/155 R, 46/86 R Int. Cl A63l1 27/08 Field of Search 244/155 R, 155 A, 153 R;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1947 Stillman 46/86 R 10/1961 Strelakos 244/155 R 10/1965 Fisher I 244/155 R X 10/1972 Barry 244/155 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 9,638 6/1890 Great Britain 244/155 R 1 Mar. 118, 1975 946,615 6/1949 France 46/86R Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Barry L. Kelmachter Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Max R. Kraus [57] ABSTRACT A toy parachute in a knockdown form which may be readily assembled by a child, comprising a flexible parachute body, shroud lines readily attachable thereto and a weight member secured to the shroud lines, a hook member attachable to the flexible body, said hook member adapted to be secured to the kite line of a flying kite so that the wind will cause the parachute to ascend the kite line and the parachute can be released therefrom by a jiggling movement of the kit line so that the parachute descends in free flight.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures TOY PARACHIUTE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of this invention is to provide a toy parachute which may be inexpensively produced in a knockdown form and which may be readily assembled by a child. The parachute has a hook member to be se cured to the flexible body of the parachute, said hook member adapted to be hooked to the lower end of the kite line as the kite is in flight and with the lower end of the kite line held by the child. The parachute is so constructed that the wind will carry the parachute up the kite line in the direction of the flying kite, with the parachute adapted to be released from the line for free descent by jiggling the line to release the hook from the kite line.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toy parachute which may be so inexpensively produced that it may be given away or sold as a premium item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a view of the sheet from which the parachute body is cut.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the parachute body with the hook and shroud lines attached thereto.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the attachment of the shroud lines to the flexible body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2 showing the hook attached to the parachute body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the hook.

FIG. 6 is a view of the parachute.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing the weight member.

FIG. 8 shows the manner of holding the kite line to permit the parachute to ascend the line; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing the manner of detaching the parachute from the kite line to permit the parachute to descend in free flight.

The body of the toy parachute is formed from a sheet of material 10, such as vinyl. The sheet 10 is generally square-shaped and has a circular dotted line 12 along which it is to be cut to form the circular flexible body indicated at 14. To this flexible body is to be secured a plurality of shroud lines indicated at 16 which are pieces of conventional string which may be supplied in the kit or which can be separately obtained. The flexible body 14 is provided on the outer surface thereof with designations or printed markings 18 which are the points where the shroud lines 16 are to be secured. The end of each of the shroud lines 16 is to be secured to the flexible parachute body 14 by means of a strip of pressure sensitive adhesive tape 20 which is applied at said designated points over the ends of the shroud lines to secure said ends to the flexible body 14. All of the shroud lines, except for one which is longer, are of uniform length. The longer shroud line designated at 22 has a weighted member designated at 24 secured to it.

The weighted member 24 may be a strip of cardboard centrally folded upon itself to form a pair of sides 26, with the sides each having an opening 28 which are alined when the sides are folded together so that the end of the longer shroud line 22 may be secured thereto. The weighted member 24 may have imprinted on the opposite sides thereof any advertising material or any character desired. The shroud lines 16 and 22 are joined or tied together adjacent their lower ends by a separate piece of string 30 which is tied to form a knot.

A hook member generally indicated at 32, formed preferably of piano wire, is adapted to be attached to the outside surface of said flexible body member 14. Said hook member has a lower U-shaped end 34 with an upper inverted U-shaped end 36 having a greater depth or height than the lower end. The lower end 34 ofthe hook member 32 is secured flatwise by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape strip 38 to the flexible body 14 to hold the hook attached thereto. The hook is secured to the flexible body preferably not centrally thereof but spaced from the center, as best seen in FIG. 2.

The parachute is indicated generally by the numeral 40. The manner of operating the toy parachute is best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. The conventional kite cord 42 has one end attached to the kite 44 with the opposite or lower end of the kite cord being held in the hand as at 46. The kite will fly in very light wind but the parachute requires a 10 to 15 mile wind to operate. After the kite reaches the desired altitude the parachute 40 is hooked onto the lower end of the kite cord by means of the hook 32 and the wind will carry the parachute upwardly, as indicated by the arrow 48, in the direction of the kite. When the operator wants to release the parachute he applies a quick jerking or jiggling action on the kite line 42, up and down several times, as shown in FIG. 9, which causes the hook 32 to become disengaged from the kite line 42 whereby the parachute gradually descends to the ground in a free flight. There is thus provided great play value and yet the toy can be inexpensively produced.

The parts forming the parachute may be supplied in a kit or envelope in disassembled form and readily assembled by the child.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy parachute formed of a plurality of disassembled parts which are readily assembled by a child to form a complete parachute and comprising, a flexible parachute body having a center, a plurality of separate shroud lines each having one of their ends attached to the flexible body by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape with the balance of the line extending below the flexible body, a hook member having a lower U-shaped end and an upper inverted U-shaped end with the lower U- shaped end attachable to the top ofthe flexible body by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape, said hook member being attached to the outside surface of the flexible parachute body in a position removed from the center of the flexible parachute body, said upper inverted U- shaped end of said hook member adapted to be hooked to the lower end of a kite line with the opposite end of the kite line secured to a kite adapted to be flown, with the lower end of the line held by the operator, said toy parachute being so constructed that the wind will carry the parachute up the line in the direction of the kite, said parachute adapted to be released from said line for free descent by jerking the line to release the hook member and parachute from the kite line, and a weight member secured to the lower end of said shroud lines.

2. A toy parachute as set forth in claim I in which one of the shroud lines has a length greater than the re maining shroud lines and to the lower end of which is secured the weight member.

tapes are to be secured to hold the ends of the shroud 1 lines.

5. A toy parachute as set forth in claim 1 in which the lower U-shaped end of the hook is positioned flat against the flexible parachute body. 

1. A toy parachute formed of a plurality of disassembled parts which are readily assembled by a child to form a complete parachute and comprising, a flexible parachute body having a center, a plurality of separate shroud lines each having one of their ends attached to the flexible body by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape with the balance of the line extending below the flexible body, a hook member having a lower U-shaped end and an upper inverted U-shaped end with the lower U-shaped end attachable to the top of the flexible body by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape, said hook member being attached to the outside surface of the flexible parachute body in a position removed from the center of the flexible parachute body, said upper inverted U-shaped end of said hook member adapted to be hooked to the lower end of a kite line with the opposite end of the kite line secured to a kite adapted to be flown, with the lower end of the line held by the operator, said toy parachute being so constructed that the wind will carry the parachute up the line in the direction of the kite, said parachute adapted to be released from said line for free descent by jerking the line to release the hook member and parachute from the kite line, and a weight member secured to the lower end of said shroud lines.
 2. A toy parachute as set forth in claim 1 in which one of the shroud lines has a length greater than the remaining shroud lines and to the lower end of which is secured the weight member.
 3. A toy parachute as set forth in claim 2 in which the weight member comprises a strip of cardboard folded on itself and having alined openings through which the end of the longer shroud line is secured.
 4. A toy parachute as set forth in claim 1 in which the flexible pArachute body has indications at spaced points to indicate where the pressure sensitive adhesive tapes are to be secured to hold the ends of the shroud lines.
 5. A toy parachute as set forth in claim 1 in which the lower U-shaped end of the hook is positioned flat against the flexible parachute body. 